Meet Porsche's super-aerodynamic 1984 911 prototype

The world's most slippery 911 Classic.

We woke up this morning comfortable with the assumption that automotive aerodynamics had come a long way since the Reagan Era. You know, computer wizardry and 3D modeling and big wind tunnels and whatnot. Then a Porsche engineer with a large forehead and thick-rimmed glasses came along and promptly dismissed that notion.

Meet one of Stuttgart's secret aerodynamic studies—a super-slippery 911 mule from 1984. It's got all kinds of tweaks, from Bonneville-style wheel covers to a novel wing and an odd-looking (but undoubtedly efficient) front airdam. Look closely, and we can see hints of things to come, most notably in 993-esque headlamps and the early semblance of a 993 GT2 spoiler. All together, the prototype's drag coefficient was nearly 50 percent lower than its contemporary production counterpart.

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In fact, with a 0.27 Cd, this three-decade-old concept is as aerodynamic as a new 2014 Scion FR-S.